Tech

Facebook Says It Was Victim of 'Sophisticated Attack'

Facebook issued a statement on on Friday that it was hit with a "sophisticated attack" in January, but no user data was compromised.

The attack was caused when Facebook employees visited a malicious website that installed malware onto their computers.

"Last month, Facebook Security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack," the company said in an official blog post. "This attack occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised. The compromised website hosted an exploit which then allowed malware to be installed on these employee laptops."

Facebook said the laptops were fully patched and running up-to-date antivirus software.

"As soon as we discovered the presence of the malware, we remediated all infected machines, informed law enforcement, and began a significant investigation that continues to this day," the company said. "We have no evidence that Facebook user data was compromised in this attack."

Facebook added it was not alone in the attack: "It is clear that others were attacked and infiltrated recently as well," the company said. "As one of the first companies to discover this malware, we immediately took steps to start sharing details about the infiltration with the other companies and entities that were affected."

The social network is working with law enforcement to learn more about the incident.

"As part of our ongoing investigation, we are working continuously and closely with our own internal engineering teams, with security teams at other companies, and with law enforcement authorities to learn everything we can about the attack, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future," Facebook said.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.